How many people does President Barack Obama have to nominate before he finally gets a Commerce Secretary? He himself doesnt seem to know — he even suggested reaching back in time and tapping Abraham Lincoln for the job.

But for live candidates, so far it’s two and counting. One close ally (Bill Richardson), one Republican who seemed — initially —  willing to work with the Democratic president (Judd Gregg). At least until yesterday when he changed his mind.

That left Obama, who was visiting the land of Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois, on Thursday, to muse that the 16th president might be sitting somewhere “maybe wondering if someone might call him up and ask him to be commerce secretary.”

Failing that, who’s next? And when will Obama finally complete his cabinet?

These questions will be swirling around as the president waits for the Congress to pass a $789 billion economic stimulus package. Obama wants lawmakers to pass the bill before the end of the Presidents’ Day holiday so he can quickly sign it into law. The votes should be around noon in the House and in the early evening in the Senate.

The bill — a compromise between House and Senate versions — is expected to pass in both chambers. The big question is how many Republicans will vote for it? In the first round, no Republicans in the House voted for it while only three moderate Republican Senators voted to pass the stimulus package.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon — here’s a warning from Khartoum, where Muslim clerics have urged Sudanese youngsters to boycott the romantic holiday, saying it’s a Western institution that could lead couples astray.

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- Photo credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst (Gregg announces he’s withdrawing as Obama’s Commerce Secretary nominee)

President-elect Barack Obama woke up today in the tony Hay-Adams Hotel, across Lafayette Park from the White House.

Soon after sunrise, a black SUV was spotted carrying Obama’s younger daughter Sasha to her first day at Sidwell Friends School elementary campus in suburban Bethesda, Maryland. Older daughter Malia will go to Sidwell Friends’ middle school campus in Washington DC.
The Obamas arrived in Washington late Sunday, an extra-early move so the girls could start school at the beginning of the semester. Most presidents-elect arrive on January 15. That’s when the Obama family will move into Blair House, directly across the street from the White House. The new first family moves into the executive mansion on Inauguration Day, January 20.

Top news on morning TV shows was New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s withdrawal as Obama’s chosen commerce secretary in the face of a legal inquiry. Richardson, a former Democratic  presidential candidate, has denied wrongdoing in connection with the investigation of a California-based financial company that had done business with the New Mexico state government.

U.S. TV news shows offered a bit of chatter about Obama’s plan for up to $310 billion in tax cuts for businesses and the middle class as part of an economic stimulus package.

Obama goes to Capitol Hill today for discussions with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or California and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The new Congress will be sworn in on Tuesday, launching the political year.

For workaday Washingtonians, the advent of the Obamas is more than politics. It’s a traffic story. On the first working Monday of the new year, commuters are faced with street closings and restricted access around the Hay-Adams.

REUTERS/Jason Reed (Hay Adams Hotel in Washington)

REUTERS/Steve Marcus (Bill Richardson in Las Vegas)

When Barack Obama unveiled a newly shorn Bill Richardson as his Commerce Secretary pick on Wednesday, Obama praised the man but pointedly criticized his grooming decisions.

“We’re deeply disappointed with the loss of the beard,” the president-elect said.

“I think it was a mistake for him to get rid of it. I thought that whole Western, rugged look was really working for him.” Obama said of the New Mexico governor.

Richardson grew the beard when he dropped out of the presidential race in March, recalling another Democrat who ditched his razor when he fell short of the presidency — 2000 candidate Al Gore.

The facial fuzz also had the added benefit of hiding the corpulent governor’s double chin.

“For some reason, maybe because it was scratchy when he kissed his wife, he was forced to get rid of it,” Obama said.

Richardson was not given a chance to explain his decision.

Was this an example of Obama showing mastery over his nascent “team of rivals,” which includes former rivals Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton?

Perhaps he was simply worried about the lack of facial-hair diversity in his future administration.

While Obama has taken pains to appoint women and blacks to senior positions, only the mustachioed Attorney General pick Eric Holder breaks the ranks of the clean-shaven.

Photo by REUTERS/John Gress (Richardson with Obama at Chicago news conference).

President-elect Barack Obama will continue to fill out his Team of Rivals when he names New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary at a press conference scheduled for 11:40 a.m. EST For those of you keeping score at home, that means at least three members of his administration will be former Democratic presidential candidates – Richardson, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and Secretary of State pick Hillary Clinton. 
     
We can’t wait to see what he has in mind for Dennis Kucinich. 
     
On the Hill, lawmakers will continue to weigh U.S. automakers’ restructuring proposals ahead of hearings later this week. The heads of Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, chastened from their skeptical reception last month, are driving from Detroit this time — and they’re confident they’ll get here in good shape. 
     
“Our cars don’t have car trouble,” GM president Fritz Henderson said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” 

Chrysler officials hold a rally at a dealership in suburban New Carollton, Maryland, to build support for the bailout at 11:30 a.m. 
     
Bigwigs from Honda and Toyota are in town, too. But they’re not here to beg for cash — they’re talking about electric cars and other sustainable technologies at the Convention Center. 
      
Just how bad is this recession? We’ll know more at 2 p.m., when the Fed Releases its “Beige Book,” an antecdotal survey of economic conditions nationwide. 
    
Wall Street doesn’t need more gloomy evidence. Stocks are expected to open lower after Research in Motion, the folks who make the Blackberry, slashed their outlook and mining giant Freeport-McMoRan suspended its divident payments and slashed copper output.

REUTERS/Richard Clement (Richardson and Obama at campaign rally)

REUTERS/Fred Prouser (GM logo at LA auto show)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Democrats will eventually unite once the hard-fought presidential nomination battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is resolved but that process may take time, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said on Monday. 

“There’s going to be a need for healing,” Richardson, a former White House hopeful who is backing Obama. 

Richardson, who had served as energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations in former President Bill Clinton’s administration, remained on the fence for several weeks before deciding to support Obama, an Illinois senator, two months ago.

After announcing his decision, he talked of a tense phone call with Hillary Clinton when he broke the news to her. James Carville, a longtime adviser to Bill Clinton, called Richardson a “Judas.” 

Obama, who now holds a lead in delegates over Clinton that probably is insurmountable, was on the campaign trail with Richardson on Monday. The governor introduced the Illinois senator at a Memorial Day veterans forum in Las Cruces, New Mexico. 

Richardson, who is of Latino descent, is expected to provide a boost to Obama’s efforts to court Hispanic voters. 

Campaigning in Puerto Rico last weekend, Obama sprinkled some Spanish phrases into his speech. Richardson said the senator’s Spanish is “passable” but the effort is appreciated by these voters. 

Although Latinos gravitated toward Clinton in many primary races, Richardson said Obama can boost his support by increasing his visibility with the community. 

Listing some of the messages that will help Obama, Richardson said, “He talks about respect. He’s a minority himself” and comes from a family of modest means.

- Photo credit: Reuters/Edwin Montilva (New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, shown during an April 2008 trip to Venezuela.)

SALEM, Ore. - Conventional wisdom suggests New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson’s endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama ’s bid for the Democratic nomination matters most among Hispanic voters where, as a Hispanic himself, Richardson could have most influence.

Following that logic, the endorsement would have made more impact before Texas primary on March 5 or, even better, before Super Tuesday’s primary in California. Sen. Hillary Clinton won the big Hispanic vote in both states handily.
The point was made by Clinton’s campaign strategist Mark Penn.

“You know, I think New Mexico is a state that, actually, we won,” he said. “And if Senator Obama’s campaign wanted to follow what they tell everyone, they certainly would be telling Governor Richardson to be casting his pledged delegate to us.

“But I think that, you know, perhaps the time when he could have been most effective has long since passed and — long since passed.”

But Richardson, who had been in the Democratic presidential race until dropping out in January , told a news conference that point of view was “unfortunate” and reflective of an outmoded politics of ethnic identification that he said Obama opposes.

President Bill Clinton appointed Richardson energy secretary and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and the Clintons had courted his endorsement assiduously.

Richardson called Sen. Clinton on Friday to explain why he was supporting her opponent and it was a difficult phone call.

“Let me say we have had better conversations,” he said. 

Click here for more Reuters 2008 campaign coverage. 

- Photo credit: Reuters/Richard Clement (Obama (left) and Richardson wave to the crowd at a rally in Portland, Ore., March 21 after the New Mexico governor endorseed Obama’s presidential campaign.)